England: Khusanov, Mitoma shine in FA Cup
Manchester City came from behind to beat League One club Leyton Orient 2-1 in a FA Cup fourth round tie. Uzbek international Abdukodir Khusanov came on after the break to score their first in the 56th minute in his second appearance.

Jamie Donley's audacious long-range effort that came back off the bar and rebounded in off City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega had given Orient an early lead and they maintained that advantage until 56 minutes when Rico Lewis' shot deflected in off Khusanov for his first Manchester City goal. Kevin de Bruyne then scored 11 minutes from time to take City through.

Premier League leaders Liverpool suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Championship bottom club Plymouth Argyle. Japan captain Wataru Endo played a full match for the Reds, who conceded a penalty in the 53rd minute to exit the competition.

Other FA Cup fourth-round matches had Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma scoring the winning goal in their come-from-behind 2-1 win over Chelsea. The Japan international found the back of the net in the 57th minute.

Australian international Cameron Burgess played a full match for Ipswich Town in their 4-1 win over Coventry City while his countryman Massimo Luongo came on in the 68th minute.

Hwang Hee-chan assisted Wolves’ first goal in their 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers. The Korea Republic international started the match but came off after the break.

Hwang’s fellow international and Tottenham captain Son Heung-min was involved in their side’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.

Daizen Maeda struck twice as Celtic overwhelmed Dundee FC 6-0 at Celtic Park in the Premiership. He headed home in the 55th minute following a cross from Jota and then chipped over Dundee custodian Trevor Carson four minutes later.

His Japanese compatriot Reo Hatate played 78 minutes of the match, which saw the league leaders move 13 points clear of second-placed Rangers at the top with 66 points.

The 27-year-old Maeda fired a hat-trick (6th, 45+3rd, 77th minutes) in their Scottish Cup fifth round tie as Celtic cruised 5-0 past Championship club Raith Rovers. His tally inside the week brings him up to 50 goals in total for Celtic.

 

Maeda’s teammate and Korea Republic international Yang Hyun-jun also grabbed a second-half goal against Raith and assisted the second and third before being replaced in the 65th minute. Hatate came on in the 37th.

Other Cup matches saw Hibernian’s Australian trio of Martin Boyle, Nectarios Triantis and Jack Iredale starting in their 1-0 win over Championship leaders Ayr United. The visitors scored in the 87th minute through Rocky Bushiri to advance to the quarters.

France: Al Tamari debuts for Rennes
Jordan international Mousa Al Tamari played a full match in his debut for Rennes in their 2-0 win over St Etienne. The forward was formerly with Montpellier, where he scored twice in 15 appearances this season.

Paris Saint-Germain remained unbeaten in 21 Ligue 1 matches as they romped to a 4-1 win over third–placed AS Monaco. Korea Republic international midfielder Lee Kang-in came on for the leaders in the 63rd minute while Japan’s Takumi Minamino was replaced in the same minute by Monaco.

Reims’s Japan international Junya Ito played for 88 minutes in their 4-0 loss to Lyon before his countryman Hiroki Sekine replaced him.

Japan’s Koki Ogawa played a full match for NEC Nijmegen as they lost 2-1 to Groningen, with his countryman Kento Shiogai making his appearance in the 84th minute. Indonesia international Calvin Verdonk was also involved for the entirety of the match and assisted his side’s only goal in the 66th minute.

Almere City’s 1-0 win over FC Utrecht saw the former use Indonesian international Thom Haye for 70 minutes while the latter had Iraq international Zidane Iqbal on the pitch for 79 minutes.

Islamic Republic of Iran international Alireza Jahanbakhsh played a full match and assisted Heerenveen’s second goal in their 3-3 draw with FC Twente, who involved Indonesian international Mees Hilgers from the 69th minute.

Hilger’s fellow international Eliano Reijnders was involved from the 66th minute for PEC Zwolle in their 2-0 loss to AZ Alkmaar.

Feyenoord’s Korea Republic international Hwang In-beom made a full appearance in their 3-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam while Japan international forward Ayase Ueda came on in the 62nd minute. Sparta’s U23 Japan international Shunsuke Mito played the full match.

Nac Breeda’s Australian international midfielder Max Balard was on the losing end of the game as his side capitulated 5-0 to RKC Waalwijk.

Korea Republic defender Kim Min-jae played a full match for Bayern Munich in their 3-0 win over Werder Bremen. Bayern top the standings with 45 points and are undefeated in seven straight Bundesliga matches.

Korea Republic midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong assisted FC Union Berlin’s third goal in the 61st minute as his side carved a comfortable 4-0 win over Hoffenheim.

Ritsu Doan assisted SC Freiburg’s only goal in their 1-0 win over FC Heidenheim. The Japanese international, who played for 84 minutes, has scored six goals this season for his side, who are 13th in the league.

His countryman Kaishu Sano and Korea Republic’s Lee Jae-sung started for Mainz in their goalless draw against Augsburg, with the latter being substituted five minutes before the end of regulation time.

Borussia Monchengladbach’s Japanese international Ko Itakura played for 42 minutes in their 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Holstein Kiel’s Japan international Shuto Machino played from the 25th minute onwards in their 2-2 draw with Bochum.

St Pauli fell 2-0 to RB Leipzig, with the former’s Socceroos captain Jackson Irvine playing the full match.

IR Iran international Mehdi Taremi came on in the 82nd minute as Inter lost 3-0 to Fiorentina. The match had been rescheduled from December 1 when Fiorentina’s 22-year-old midfielder Edoardo Bove collapsed on the pitch.

AS Roma’s Uzbekistan’s national team captain Eldor Shomurodov came on eight minutes before regulation in their 1-0 win over Venezia, who fielded his Indonesia counterpart Jay Idzes from the start.

Parma’s Zion Suzuki found himself on the losing side for the third consecutive match when the Japan goalkeeper conceded two goals in their loss to Cagliari. Parma’s Giovanni Leoni scored his side’s only goal in the 78th minute.

Australian international Jordan Bos played for 24 minutes in Westerlo’s 4-2 win over Standard Liege in the Belgian Pro League. His teammate Isa Sakamoto of Japan started the match but came off in the 77th minute.

Beerschot’s Saudi Arabia international Faisal Al Ghamdi played a full match in their 1-1 draw with Sporting Charleroi.

Real Sociedad’s 2-1 win over Espanyol saw their Japanese international forward Takefusa Kubo come on in the 76th minute.